Hell below or Hell in the middle

I listened to the 'In Our Time' radio show last week, where the subject was 'Hell through the Ages'.

As a Christian, I see Hell as a fiery place where sinners go, but I often doubt that it really exists below us. That may just be because I don't want a place like that to exist, I prefer to think about Heaven.

Anyway it is quite a interesting subject and there may be more then one version of Hell:

The Greek Underworld - Where people can go to be taught a lesson and learn and then return to the world above.

Christian Hell - Where sinners go when they leave this world.

Or a William Blake view - That Hell is something we have created on Earth. The daily news of murder and bloodshed in Iraq may be called Hell to the people that have to suffer pain and fear from the Terrorist actions.

You can listen to the show here - In Our Time It lasts for about 45 minutes.

Contributors:

Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture.

Margaret Kean, Tutor and Fellow in English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford.

Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum.


Please comment on what you think.